TCM Spotlight: Revisionist Westerns: “Sam Peckinpah”
TCM, beginning at 8 p.m.
Tonight’s look at classic Revisionist Westerns presents a lineup of four films from one of the pioneers of that film subgenre: director Sam Peckinpah, whose visually innovative and explicit depictions of action and violence, and unconventional characters and storytelling, heralded the beginning of a new era for movies as a whole, and especially for Westerns. The evening starts with Peckinpah’s second film, Ride the High Country (1962), led by Randolph Scott and Joel Mccrea, which was particularly unusual for its time. Because of that, it is perhaps not surprising that it was pretty much ignored in the United States at the time of its release. It did become a success in Europe, however, and foreign critics appreciated Peckinpah’s reworking of the Western genre. It has since become regarded as one of his finest works. Following that is The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970), starring Jason Robards and Stella Stevens, which not only subverts Western archetypes but also traditional expectations from a Peckinpah film, with its almost comedic tale featuring little violence. Up next is perhaps one of Peckinpah’s most familiar works, 1969’s The Wild
Bunch, which does notoriously contain plenty of violence. William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan and Edmond O’brien headline the cast of the movie, which earned Peckinpah a shared Oscar nomination for his screenplay cowritten with Walon Green and Roy N. Sickner. Tonight’s final Peckinpah film is Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973), which follows aging Old West lawman Garrett (James Coburn), who is hired to bring down outlaw – and his old friend – Billy the Kid (Kris Kristofferson in one of his earlier film acting roles). Among the things that make this movie stand out among Westerns is its musical score and songs composed by Bob Dylan; the soundtrack earned a Grammy nomination and introduced the classic Dylan tune “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.” — Jeff Pfeiffer